Jolly Pumpkin to open Hyde Park brewpub in 2017

Jolly Pumpkin, a Dexter, Mich., based brewery, will open a brewpub in Chicago's Hyde Park. The brewery has restaurants in Ann Arbor, Traverse City and Detroit (pictured).

Jolly Pumpkin, a Dexter, Mich., based brewery, will open a brewpub in Chicago's Hyde Park. The brewery has restaurants in Ann Arbor, Traverse City and Detroit (pictured).

(Irene Sugiura)

Josh NoelChicago Tribune

The good news is that they don’t make pumpkin beer.

The even better news is that Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is setting up shop in Chicago.

The Dexter, Mich.-based brewery, which began specializing in oak-aged sour ales long before oak-aged sour ales were cool, plans to open a brewpub near the University of Chicago campus in 2017, the brewery said Tuesday.

Jolly Pumpkin will open a 5,800-square-foot restaurant featuring 30-plus taps along with spirits and wine made by its parent company, Northern United Brewing Co.

Brands under the Northern United umbrella also include North Peak Brewing Co., Nomad Cidery, Civilized Spirit distillery and Bonafide Wines.

The restaurant will feature a one- or two-barrel brewing system and be licensed as a taproom, said Tony Grant, chief executive officer of Northern United Brewing Co.

Scores of small-scale Jolly Pumpkin beer made in Dexter that Chicago would not otherwise see will be available at the pub, Grant said. The North Peak brand, which has a more classic craft brewing focus (think: hops), has not previously been distributed in Chicago.

Grant said Jolly Pumpkin spent two years looking for a location in Chicago before settling on the ground level of Harper Court, a 12-story University of Chicago development, at 5251 S. Harper Court. It is expected to open by early summer 2017.

"We've wanted to do something in Chicago for a long time," Grant said. "It's such a great beer city, and over the last five years, it's exploded. We’re proud of our roots, but Chicago is Chicago. It’s the place to be."

Food options will include staples from other Jolly Pumpkin locations such as a hamburger (the burger at Jolly Pumpkin's Ann Arbor location is grass-fed beef with cambozola cheese, crimini mushrooms and applewood smoked bacon on a challah roll), truffle fries and pizzas. The menu will also feature items developed specifically for the Hyde Park location. The restaurant will be counter service and communal seating.

"There has long been community interest in having a pub-style restaurant at Harper Court," James Hennessy, the University’s of Chicago associate vice president for commercial real estate, said in a statement. "The addition of Jolly Pumpkin will enhance Hyde Park’s growing reputation as a new dining destination in Chicago while introducing a brewery to the neighborhood."

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